Going Gluten Free

A few months ago I caught myself mindlessly eating one Saturday afternoon. Six frozen waffles smothered with Nutella and peanut butter later, I realized that I wasn't even that hungry. The waffles just tasted good, so I kept eating them. I noticed this mindless eating was common for me on weekends and evenings after Joon was in bed--especially while grading papers. Frozen waffles, crackers, cheese, tortilla chips, cereal, you name it...I grazed non-stop. I was consuming calories like I was an ultra-runner, and I justified my eating with my running habits. I didn't notice a change in my weight since I have a high metabolism and I run a good deal, but I did notice that I was feeling sluggish. However, I chocked this up to being a working mom. Some weeks later I was at a dinner meeting with colleagues from the Nebraska Writing Project, and two of the teachers at my table began talking about how one of their families went gluten free. The two engaged in a chat about how much wheat has changed in the last 50 years and discussed the book Wheat Belly. Intrigued, I asked for more information and later that night purchased the book on my Kindle. About a month later, I purged our cabinets and freezer of wheat and decided we'd try this gluten free thing.

The bulk of this book is devoted to explaining the evolution of wheat over the last several hundred years and its impact on Americans' health. I won't bore you all by going into detail about the book, but the most fascinating element of the book was the explanation of the addictive properties of our modern day wheat because it explained my mindless eating and constant cravings for carbs and sugar. I wanted to see if going gluten free would curb this bad habit.

It was a difficult decision to purge the wheat (it still is!) because honestly, there are so many common products that have wheat as an ingredient. The obvious culprits are breads, cereals, pastas, and crackers, but wheat also has snuck its way into salad dressings, soups, condiments, candy, etc. We had a few grocery bags of food to donate to the food pantry by the time I was done cleaning out our cabinets. We replaced our bread with gluten free bread that we only eat every now and then. Our pasta was replaced with corn pasta. Our cereal with Chex. But the biggest change I've seen is in our snacking--no longer are we munching on processed crackers, cookies, or chips. Now we eat nuts, fruits, vegetables, yogurt, meats, cheeses, and the occasional veggie chip/rice cracker for our snacks. All of our snack foods are now more wholesome foods. And guess what? My mindless eating has diminished. I no longer feel constantly hungry either. Don't get wrong, I still want to eat cookies (for the most part, packaged gluten free cookies really suck), and each time I drive by a donut shop, I resist the urge to pick up a few. Eating out is difficult--especially fast food. I did find an app called Find Me Gluten Free that is super handy, but for the most part, we just don't eat out. We're not super crazy about this and expect our friends and family to cook gluten free for us, so we have indulged every now and then when traveling...but we've paid for it with stomach cramps and frequent trips to sit atop the porcelain god.

While it's sometimes a hassle, this gluten free thing has helped me to become a more conscious eater who has traded processed foods for more wholesome foods.

Last night's menu...

Last night we had good friends over for dinner, so I tied on my apron and tested my culinary skills. The menu: Mediterranean chicken and orzo salad stuffed inside red peppers, cucumbers with tomatoes, chives, and parsley, quinoa skillet bread, and red wine. I wish I had thought to snap a photo of this meal as it was incredibly bright and aesthetically pleasing!

The main recipes were amazingly delicious and relatively easy to make. The quinoa made the bread incredibly moist and the cream on top gave it a nice custard-like consistency. And the main course was a nice summer meal---cool orzo, feta, olives, tomatoes, and chicken drenched in a homemade vinaigrette dressing and stuffed inside gutted red peppers.

If you're looking to mix up your summer menu, check out both recipes...you won't be disappointed!

One of my loves...

I love baking. Seriously. I don't do it very often because....well, because there's only two of us, and I typically don't have any occasions to bake for. Nonetheless, I love scouring the internet for recipes (I have a huge cooking folder in my Evernote account!), I love tweaking the ingredient lists to make recipes healthier, and I love eating what I bake.

Today I pulled out one of my aprons (I have three beautiful aprons that were either my grandmother's or great-grandmother's) and whipped up a dozen rhubarb streusel muffins while I listened to NPR's All Things Considered. I had leftover streusel in the freezer from the batch of oatmeal muffins I made last month, so it saved me quite a bit of time. These little dears are delightful---a perfect blend of sweet and tart. So far this summer I've baked German pancakes, oatmeal muffins, homemade brown sugar and cinnamon poptarts as well as Nutella poptarts (both were whole wheat!), and rhubarb muffins. I'm surprised I haven't gained weight this summer!

In case you love baking too and want to try out new recipes, here are my go-to websites:

• 101 Cookbooks
• Smitten Kitchen (I found this one through my friend Liz Peters...thanks for sharing this Liz!)
  

New Recipes

So....in honor of our musical's conclusion, I'm trying out new recipes. I LOVE cooking, but more importantly, I love cooking with fresh, wholesome ingredients. Last night I rifled through my cookbooks and the internet looking for a variety of new recipes to try out. Here's what's on the menu for the coming days in the Helzer home:

• Rice noodles with peanut sauce---the recipe features fresh ginger, red peppers, carrots, green onions, natural peanut butter, rice noodles, broth and soy sauce.
  
• Fettuccine with ricotta, tomato and basil---'nuff said!
  
• Pita pizzas--this is cheating a bit because we used to eat these a lot in Kearney when we were poor newlyweds! Pitas are topped with hummus, spinach, peppers, olives, feta and whatever else we can throw on 'em.
  
• Garbanzo bean sandwiches--the title sounds disgusting. Actually, it's a homemade hummus spread---garbanzo beans, walnuts, parsley, garlic, etc. Stuffed in pita pockets with red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and LOTS of feta.
  
• Chicken posole--a soup with hominy, rotisserie chicken, broth and tomatoes.
• Quinoa primavera---I love quinoa and am always looking for good recipes to feature it! This particular one includes veggies, cream cheese, Romano cheese and broth.
• Spaghetti Torte--spaghetti, ricotta, tomatoes and eggs to make a sort of pasta pie.

Tonight were trying the rice noodles with peanut sauce--the kitchen smells so good!

Favorite Corn-Syrup Free Products

A few months ago we made Scotch-A-Roo bars for Nate's students. It came time to add the corn syrup, and I suddenly realized how icky it is. Don't get me wrong...Scotch-A-Roo bars are tasty treats. But the corn syrup freaked me out, so for the past month I've made a conscious effort to eliminate corn syrup from our house. It's amazing how many products contain corn syrup! If you look at the ingredients list on many cereals, breads, and other snack foods you'll find that its often one of the first ingredients listed (or close to the first). So, I thought I'd post a few of our favorite corn syrup free products in case anyone is interested!

From left to right: Nature Valley granola bars (they have so many tasty flavors!), Orrowheat thin sandwich buns, Annie's organic strawberry harvest fruit snacks, Newman's Own honey mustard (lite) salad dressing---a side note about this product: there are so many varieties of dressings and all the profits gained go to charities, Blue Diamond almond butter (a great alternative to peanut butter), Trop 50 orange juice (half the calories as regular OJ), and Stachy's Simply Naked pita chips (also comes in many varities!).

We LOVE cereal at our house! These are all high in fiber and protein and serve as excellent snacks!

(I apoligize for the awful photo!) Who doesn't love ice cream?!? Thankfully, Haagen-Dazs has created these little guys that only contain FIVE ingredients! I love the coffee flavor, but if that doesn't strike your fancy, I'm sure you can find something you like from this list:
Milk Chocolate
Caramel
Strawberry
Vanilla Bean
Coffee
Lemon
Mint
Ginger

Recipes of the week: July 12-18

One of the reasons why I love summer so much is all of the extra time I have find and make new recipes. I love digging through internet sites and magazines to find recipes that are unique, accessible, and wholesome. Here are a few new recipes I made this week (sorry for the lack of images to accompany this post!):

Wednesday: Egg Salad Sandwiches...a wholesome, tasty, and easy recipe.
Thursday: Pasta Fagioli
Friday: Blueberry-Raspberry Crisp
Saturday: Coconut Macaroon Pancakes...a nice twist to traditional pancakes!
Sunday: "Skinny" Omelettes (I know it's not Sunday yet, but I am planning on making them for breakfast tomorrow!)

Each recipe was DELICIOUS and passed the husband test. I've saved each of them on my Evernote account AND have them on my iPod for future use!

Blueberry-Raspberry Crisp (great for breakfast and dessert!)*
Makes 8 servings
Prep. 15 minutes, bake at 350 for 55 min.

Berry mixture
4 c. blueberries
1/2 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour--it gave it a nice, earthy taste)
Juice and zest from 1 large orange
2 c. raspberries

Topping
3/4 c. flour (again--I used whole wheat pastry flour)
2/3 c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Berry mixture: In large bowl, mix together blueberries, 1/2 c. light brown sugar, flour, and orange juice. Place into a 6-8 cup baking dish. Evenly scatter raspberries over the top.
3. Topping: In another large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in oats and pecans.
4. Sprinkle topping evenly over berry filling. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, until bubbly. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

What I like about this recipe: I LOVE berries! The sweetness of the blueberries and the tartness of the raspberries blended perfectly together. We ate this for dessert after lunch and then I had it again for breakfast the next day. The recipe could be easily cut in half and "healthed up"--instead of using enriched, white flour, I opted for whole wheat, all-natural pastry flour (packed full of fiber and not enriched). I didn't feel bad eating any of it either because I used all-natural ingredients!

Pasta Fagioli*
Makes 8 servings
Prep. 10 minutes, cook 13 minutes

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Garlic cloves
2 cans of chicken or veggie broth
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 Tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 Tsp. salt
1/4 Tsp. pepper
8 oz. Whole wheat pasta (I used the bowtie kind)
2 Cans of cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
Shredded Parmesan (optional)

In large saucepan, heat extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced cloves of garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-11 minutes, until pasta is tender. Stir in beans (don't forget to drain and rinse them!). Cook 1 minute or until beans are heated through. Top with Parmesan cheese.

What I like about this recipe: It's EASY! This was a "dump and pour" recipe made with common ingredients that didn't take a whole lot of thought or time. I used all natural, 99% fat free chicken broth and whole wheat pasta to give it a healthier edge. And, I cut this recipe in half since it's just two of us, and we still had leftovers for the next day. Plus, it's a filling meal--we each had a serving along with steamed broccoli and fresh bread and we were stuffed!

*From August 2010 issue of "Family Circle" magazine

Our Weekend Get-Away

This summer has been a whirlwind. Nate completed 11 hours in only 6 weeks towards his Master's Degree, and I completed 9 more. We've also been planning for a missions trip to Poland. Needless to say, we haven't had a lot of time to enjoy each other's company. We also haven't done a good job of treating ourselves in our almost four years of marriage, so it's a goal of ours to do more of it (within a budget of course!). So..this weekend we packed up and headed to the Kearney/Grand Island area for the weekend (Nate was still in Lincoln, so we met in Kearney). We got a hotel room on Friday night, had dinner at Red Lobster (I LOVE their coconut shrimp!), and then went on a walk at Harmon Park (this is where Nate proposed to me!). The next morning we slept in, ate breakfast in bed, and then headed downtown.

Nate proposed to me in that gazebo five years ago!

Can't you tell that Nate is super excited?!?

I am a sucker for original shops, cafes, bakeries, etc. While strolling downtown we stumbled in to Tru Cafe, a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch dishes made from fresh, organic, and local ingredients. They also serve great beers and Nebraska wines.

A view from "The Bricks"...notice the detail on top of the pillars....

My egg salad sandwich and Nate's chicken salad wrap...both were delightful.

The inside is so charming!

This is probably my favorite part of the restaurant. They have this piano situated on the sidewalk in front of the store for people to play. I love that Tru Cafe and Kearney are supporting and encouraging music-making.

***

After we ate lunch, we headed down the road to Hastings, Nebraska. I hadn't been to Hastings in about ten years, and a friend of ours and former teacher at OHS is moving to this community next month to start a new teaching job. He just scored a beautiful loft in the downtown area above The Back Alley Bakery. I had read about this place in a Nebraska Life magazine a few months back, so I was eager to try it out. This place creates natural artisan breads that are unprocessed and use as many organic and local ingredients as possible. This is not frozen bread dough that is popped in the oven, people. The grain is ground right there in the store. We bought a loaf of the three-pepper cheddar and it was delicious! They also serve Lincoln's own Cultiva coffee. Again, another charming small, town shop that is worth the stop!

The Cup

As always, I've enjoyed my time in Lincoln this summer. I've made it a point to visit different area hot-spots over the past five weeks. One of these is The Cup. It's a quaint bakery/restaurant on 25th and Randolph. Their food is wholesome, nutritious, and made with as many local ingredients as possible. I've had their sandwiches, salads, and muffins, but never tried their homemade cupcakes. So today I purchased a carrot-pecan cupcake for myself and a vegan chocolate chip pecan cookie for my husband...both were delicious! It's a great atmosphere--and they play fantastic music (Iron and Wine is currently seeping from the speakers). I encourage you to check out this place next time your in the capital city.